


Love Will Lift And Set Us Free

by itsallaboutflowermetaphors



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Armin is the voice of reason, First Kiss, M/M, Pirate captain! Jean, Prince!Marco, The universe is a historical golden age of piracy and snk world fusion, Ymir is savage, also i watched the first three pirates of the caribbean movies to get some pirate lingo down, ft. all my faves as Jean's crew, period-typical drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 02:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13137201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsallaboutflowermetaphors/pseuds/itsallaboutflowermetaphors
Summary: Looting a ship for treasures Captain Jean and his Crew find what they didn't expect: The king's missing son.Ymir wants to hold him ransom, Jean thinks it's a bad idea.





	Love Will Lift And Set Us Free

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yoitay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoitay/gifts).



> Dear Tayloré, it was a lot of fun to write this fan fiction for you. I hope you don't mind that i changed a few bits of the prompt and enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it.  
> Happy Holidays! 
> 
> AN: I reimagined the Walls as Kingdoms because I couldn't imagine "placing" the fic in the Caribbean and the actual Golden Age of Piracy. Jean is from Trost an island in Maria and Marco's from Jinae is the capital of Rose.  
> Title is from the poem "I am the pilot of my fate" by Jim Boone.  
> And, not to toot my own horn but i watched three pirates of the Caribbean movies, read the entire sink manga and so many web pages about pirate jobs, pirate drinks and ships to understand everything as well as possible.

If someone would have told Jean Kirschstein that he returned, from the voyage he was starting in this moment, with the love of his life he would have laughed at them.  
It was a warm spring morning when the Sea Nymph left the port of Trost.  
Jean stood at the bow of the ship overlooking his crew setting sail and hurrying across the decks. He had a good feeling about this trip, the weather was good with the winds being strong enough to carry them far into the open sea.  
The gentle breeze ruffled his hair and linen shirt. Despite only being on land for a few days he had already missed sailing, the waves crashing against the bow and drops of sea foam hitting his face.  
Yesterday the crew had decided to attack merchant ships from Rose; they usually carried valuable goods and didn’t put up a fight. Jean hoped to get a decent amount of alcohol, food and gold.  
Technically Jeans’ crew wasn’t pirates. They had letters de marque from the king of Maria which allowed them to seize enemy ships. However, like most other privateers, they didn’t exclusively attack ships they were allowed to. There were definitely too many vessels out there tempting them. The profit was bigger, too. But most importantly attacking whoever they wanted to made it feel a lot less like working for someone, it made them feel free.  
After sailing for a few hours Jean consulted with his sailing master Armin; he was a few years younger than Jean, barely a man but incredibly smart and in charge of navigating the Sea Nymph.  
Armin worked in the navigation room, a chamber equipped with a large desk to hold maps, a sea atlas and navigation tools such as an astrolabe and a compass. Several pieces of a paper with messy handwriting on them were strewn across the desk and a jar of ink stood dangerously close to the edge. Three wooden chests stood along one wall, Jean knew two of them stored more maps and the other navigation equipment.  
“We are still in international waters but fairly close to Roses’ coast. We should encounter plenty merchant vessels soon,” Armin confirmed, his head bent over the massive sea atlas, his blond hair was tied up in in a bun with some unruly strands falling into his face.  
He wore a light linen shirt and woolen breeches - like most of the crew.  
Despite being captain Jean really sucked at reading navigation charts and honestly quite glad to have Armin as his navigator. Armin had joined the crew at the same time as his best friends Eren and Mikasa. Jean didn’t know much about their past (it was common courtesy not to ask; people went through a lot and usually weren’t keen on sharing their stories), he knew they were orphans and became pirates to avoid being picked from the streets and sold.  
“You’re my savior, Armin,” Jean sighed, leaning against the table.  
“How are Eren and Mikasa?” he then asked. While Jean and Eren got into arguments regularly this didn’t mean Jean did not care about him. Jean would check on them himself but the two were incredibly hard to read. Armin was the only one to have mastered the skill.  
“Eren’s good,” Armin replied, “He looks forward to fighting and Mikasa’s fine. She’s worried Eren’s going to get injured.”  
While replying Armin had scribbled something down on a scrap piece of paper.  
“Coordinates?” Jean asked.  
“Not exactly,” Armin sighed and pushed back his bangs in frustration. “It’s about a card from our last loot, I can’t seem to find its’ position. I haven’t see the islands depicted before. Right now I assume they are south of Trost but I’m not certain. I’ll keep you updated.”  
After a few seconds of silence Armin said, “And Jean, you should probably grab a telescope, go on the weather deck and look out for targets. Just a suggestion,” he added nonchalantly. When he looked up though, he had a shit eating grin plastered on his face.  
Jean grinned in response, “Sure Armin,” he replied and walked out onto the weather deck, closing the door to the navigation cabin behind him.  
Before Jean could settle against the reiling Connie, a short guy with very short hair, yelled from the shrouds.  
“Merchant vessel with Rose flag straight ahead”  
This was when Jean’s mind went into auto-pilot, he checked his belt for his pistols and cutlass and started yelling orders for the crew, getting reading to attack their target. 

When Jean and his crew boarded the merchant ship he definitely didn’t expect to come face to face with a member of the ship’s crew. They usually made themselves sparse even if the flag on Jean’s ship guaranteed the victims their lives if they surrendered.  
Now, while the pirates got to work, Jean in the very front, pistols and cutlass in his belt, the stranger just stood in the middle of the upper deck and watched curiously.  
He was slightly taller than Jean, had short brown hair, brown eyes and freckles covering his cheeks. The stranger wore a light silky shirt and dark linen breeches.  
“Move out of the fucking way, will ya?,” Ymir, a tall woman with short brown hair, muttered while shoving past the guy, making him stumble and fall. While he got back up onto his feet, Reiner stopped next to him. He was a buff blond man, towering over most of the crew and certainly able lift more than anyone else.  
“Y’know, standing in the middle of a ship, while pirates” - he pointed at himself - “robb it, is one of the worst ideas possible.”, he laughed and then carried the crates he had under his arm onto their vessel, too.  
After looting, Jean and his crew were ready to untie the ropes that connected the two ships. The stranger was still watching them intensely.  
“Haven’t seen pirates before, have ya?”, Ymir hollered in his direction upon noticing. She was cocky as always, a big grin on her freckled face as she approached the railing again.  
To Jean’s surprise he shook his head; everyone who went to sea encountered pirates, privateers or however you wanted to call them.  
Jean bumped his elbow into Ymir’s side, “Why are you talking to him?”  
Ymir laughed, “Have you even looked at him yet? He’s not a sailor, Jean. That’s the missing prince from Jinae.”  
Jean looked at Ymir in disbelief, his mouth the slightest bit open and one eyebrow raised.  
“Trust me,” she whispered before Jean could answer.  
“Hey mate,” she then yelled, “Being on a merchant ship is damn boring! Do you want to join us and be a pirate?”  
Jean couldn’t believe his ears. What was she doing? Still confused, he barely noticed the stranger nodding and approaching their ship, Ymir; being the gentleman she really wasn’t, helped him onto it.  
As soon as he was safe on their ship, Connie and Sasha quickly removed the ropes connecting the ships and they set sail towards their home port.  
While others hurried across the ship, Ymir grabbed Jean’s sleeve and patted the stranger roughly on the shoulder.  
“So, mate,” she said, “What’s your name?”  
“I’m Marco,” he replied shyly.  
“Well Marco, meet Jean, he’s our captain. And Marco, I hate to break it to you but, as the King of Rose’s lost son, you are now our hostage.”  
While Jean finally understood what Ymir had been doing (making a hostage want to go on their ship), Marco looked terrified.  
“I’m not the king’s son,” he protested.  
“Look,” Ymir said, “The prince’s name is Marco and no offence, but you don’t look like a sailor; your clothes are too fancy, you’re too scrawny to lift crates and survive on a ship.”  
Jean sighed, “Ymir, we need to talk.”  
He abruptly moved his head, signaling her to move out of Marco’s hearing range.  
After settling against the railing again, he started to talk, “You were in no position to take a prisoner! We don’t take prisoners! We are better than the fucking military or the merchant ship captains! We decide as a whole!”  
“Awwr, c’mon Jean, look at him. He’s like the people we loathe. He hasn’t lifted a finger in his life, he spend his life flouncing around in a palace living off others’ work! We’ll send a ransom note and will be rich a second later because I’m sure that fucker in Jinae wants his son back!”  
“Ymir,” Jean sighed, “You might be right but the others have a saying in this too. We will call for a council and have everyone decide.”  
Less than half an hour later the entire crew was gathered on the weather deck, the news about the newly acquired prisoner had already spread.  
Jean, Ymir and Marco stood on the Quarterdeck by the steering wheel.  
“Everyone listen up,” Jean yelled, “As most of you know, this this Marco, he entered our ship voluntarily. However, he is the prince of Rose and Ymir wants to told him for ransom. I have to remind you that Ymir is not captain and we decide as a whole anyways. Now, i want to hear your opinions, but threatening a king is much more dangerous than our usual business.  
Sasha was the first to speak up, “I mean, he’s here, isn’t he?” She was dangling from the shrouds as usual, her long brown ponytail flowing in the wind. A few crew members murmured in agreement.  
“I heard the King of Rose is very cruel. We shouldn’t anger him,” Armin said quietly, but before he could list more arguments be got interrupted by Reiner’s booming voice.  
“Holding a prince ransom sounds like the booty of the century to me!” he laughed.  
Again, a few mutters of agreement from the crew.  
“Don’t you think this is unfair?” Marco suddenly asked, “I boarded your ship voluntary and you debate taking me ransom!”  
Ymir laughed, “We are pirates, That’s what we do, sweetheart.”  
“I wanted to be on this ship, I am educated, I can read maps and speak several languages. Please, let me proof that I am useful!,” Marco pleaded.  
Annie, a petite blonde girl, who was usually very quiet, was the next to speak up, “I think keeping him on the ship and deciding on a later date is the smartest idea. We can still write the ransom note later and he can make himself useful for now. It’s not like he can escape from the ship without drowning anyways.” She shrugged, “Just my two cents.”  
Armin spoke up again, “According to the account we have decide unanimously if it involves prisoners. We haven’t. I think Annie’s idea is the best.”  
Mikasa, standing next to him, nodded in silent agreement.  
“For fuck’s sake, Armin, bringing up the account when no one knows it as good as you do,” Ymir muttered, frustration clear in her voice, while she retreated down the stairs and brushed past the crew. Jean took a deep breath,  
“Armin’s right. We have to agree and if we don’t, we can’t start taking prisoners. Everyone, you are dismissed!” Jean then gestured for Marco to step closer to him,  
“You can thank Armin and Annie for saving your ass. Anyhow, as a crew newbie you will be a swabbie,” Jean raised an eyebrow, “Do you know what a swabbie does?”  
Marco shook his head.  
“It means you will go pick up a mop from the main deck and that mop will be your new bestie while you clean the weather decks. Everyone here eats the same meals and drinks the same liquor, but you get to have as much as you want. We eat before the sun sets. You will be able to smell that. The other’s will introduce themselves to you in their own pace. Welcome on the Sea Nymph, Marco!” With that Jean walked off and disappeared through a door.  
This was when Marco released a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. He wasn’t a ransom piece. He quickly found the mop and got to work.  
Marco worked in silence for a good hour or so when someone poked him in the shoulder. “Hey, I’m Sasha,” the girl from before told him. She was a few centimeters shorter than Marco and grinned at him.  
“Sorry about earlier, i was a bit of an asshole. Jean told me to get you a hammock and string it up. I quickly wanted to show you where it is ‘cause god knows some people here get pissed when you accidentally sleep in theirs.” She laughed and grabbed Marco by the wrist, tugging him under deck.  
“By the way, this is Connie,” Sasha said once they resurfaced and she climbed back up the shrouds. The bald boy next to her waved. Marco waved back politely, craning his neck to see him.  
“Hey mate, got off your high horse yet?”  
“Don’t answer him Marco. By the way, we are the riggers and Jeanbo’s best friends. And a piece of advice; don’t try to get up here unless you want to fall and break your fuckin’ neck.”  
It seemed she considered the conversation to be over because she started to quietly chat with Connie and climb further up the shrouds until she was at least ten meters over the deck. 

After that Marco’s first few days on the Sea Nymph were fairly uneventful. He mopped the weather decks and a few more crew members introduced themselves to him. He ended up chatting with Armin and Jean a few times.  
Today he was scrubbing below Connie and Sasha; they seemed to spend 90% percent of their day up there, when Jean stopped to talk to him. They had mostly talked during meals in the past. Marco had been fairly surprised when he had found out that Jean ate and slept with the rest of the crew.  
“Have you settled in alright?” Jean asked upon settling down against the reiling.  
“I think, i’m doing okay,” Marco stopped cleaning and rested against his mop, he was currently shirtless. His silky shirt proved more bothersome than useful early on. The sun warmed the deck enough for it to become too hot. Despite only working shirtless for a few days Marco had tanned noticeably and gotten copious amounts of new freckles on his face and shoulders.  
Jean pulled a biscuit out of the bag he carried and bit into it. He held up the bag.  
“Do you want one, too?” he asked.  
“Yes, please.”  
“You haven’t lost your proper way of speaking yet,” Jean commented as Marco settled down next to him, picking a biscuit from the bag.  
“I haven’t,” Marco answered, “Guess it doesn’t only take years to learn but also to unlearn.”  
Jean’s next question was more hesitant, “Hey Marco, you don’t have to tell me but why were you on that ship?”  
“No, it’s alright. It might seem super pretentious to even complain about this but being part of the royal family wasn’t what i wanted to be. Because I’m not the first born i was to marry for political reasons soon. I didn’t want to marry someone I didn’t know or loved. Father is very strict and wanted to hear none of it. I ran away and boarded the ship because I wanted to be free.”  
He paused, “Even if you grow up in a palace you hear the tales of pirates and how they sail the seas, doing only what they want. I wanted to do that too.”  
Marco sighed, “I was a bit naive, assuming I could just join the first pirate crew i met”  
“I guess,” Jean muttered, “but it turned out alright if you ignore Ymir wanting to take you ransom”  
Marco laughed, “That’s a bit hard to ignore, Jean. And it might sound a bit stupid now but i expected pirates to be a bit different. I expected the captain to have a long black beard and a his own big cabin. Also a parrot or monkey on his shoulder. Sorry, Jean, you might be a great captain but you’re not the captain I dreamt of”  
Jean chuckled, “Better or worse?”  
“Better - although the parrot would have been cool,” Marco joked. 

“You’ve been watching him,” Sasha said as Jean sat down next her. Her mouth was already full when she shoved another spoonful of stew into it.  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jean replied clutching his plate a bit harder in annoyance.  
“You’ve been watching Marco,” Sasha repeated, “I think you have fallen for him and his freckles. Maybe his humor, too.” She fixed Jean with a stern look and raised an eyebrow.  
Jean was surprised, his mouth opened slightly and he blushed when he realised that Sasha might be right.

That night the crew decided to drink more than usually. They had attacked another merchant vessel earlier and looted more alcohol than expected.  
A few oil lamps were strung up on the ropes to light up the weather deck.  
Reiner had made Flip, a hot spiced beer and brandy mix, and most of the crew sat in small groups, nearly everyone nursing a drink.  
Marco had just settled down on some stairs when Connie and Sasha plopped down on either side of him.  
“Parrots, eh?” Connie asked Marco from his right.  
“You eavesdropped!”  
“Didn’t! You and Jean were just too loud!” Sasha responded from his left.  
“Bet you were disappointed when we didn’t walk around with our hands on the hips saying ‘Aar’ and ‘Aye’,” Sasha laughed.  
Marco hid his face in his arms and quite frankly ready to dig himself a metaphorical hole and hide in it, when he heard a “Leave him alone, will ya?” from behind him.  
“Awwr, c’mon Jeanbo, don’t be such a killjoy; let us have some fun,” Connie said before grabbing Sasha’s hand and dragging her away, both a giggling mess.  
Jean settled down next to Marco.  
“Don’t worry, their night is far from ruined,” he laughed before taking a long drink from his own cup.  
“I imagine so,” Marco was still recovering from the embarrassment.  
“I hope yours’ isn’t either.” Jean said. “You know, they aren’t serious. They are like that with everyone. This might not be very comforting but you’ll get used to it.”  
“It’s kind of comforting, Jean,” Marco laughed and took a sip from his cup.  
“It’s good,” he commented.  
“Yeah, it really is. Reiner’s flip is definitely the best and it’s worth the headache tomorrow.”  
“Jean, please don’t mention being hungover before I’m even drunk,” Marco laughed  
“It’s just a word of advise, Swabbie,” Jean stated.  
“What? You will be hungover but it will be worth it?,” Marco asked chuckling.  
“Exactly that,” Jean raised his cup in a toast and Marco copied his movement.  
“I think, you might be drunk,” Marco remarked.  
“That’s the point. We are pirates, we steal, drink and are free.”  
“Jean, why did you become a pirate?,” Marco asked after a few seconds of silence, curiosity clear in his voice and face.  
Jean sighed and pushed a few stray strands of hair out of his face.  
“I wanted to be free. If you live onshore you rely on others’. But in a bad way. ‘The big ones’ like to let ‘the small ones’ know that they are bigger, more powerful. Here we have a council and everyone’s equal.” After a short pause he added, “We get to be who we truly are”, he looked up into the sky and Marco swore he saw tears shimmering in his eyes before Jean shook his head, “Sorry, I’m not making any sense.”  
“No, you do,” Marco said softly, his eyes shining with appreciation.  
Jean couldn’t stop watching him, somehow, Marco’s expression seemed so sincere and understanding.  
Jean took another sip from his drink and then inspected it. Empty.  
“I need seconds,” he stated and got up, “Will you join me?”  
Jean extended his hand to Marco. Marco blushed, nodded and took the other’s hand.  
Upon reaching the cauldron Jean quietly refilled their drinks and then reached for Marco’s hand again.  
Marco didn’t mind but blushed nonetheless. They were halfway back to their former place, walking along the reiling, before Jean noticed Marco blushing.  
He looked at him confused.  
“What’s? Marco?,” he asked.  
The other just looked down to their joined hands and raised them to their chest level.  
“You took my hand again”, he explained softly and smiled.  
Jean’s heart beat furiously when Marco lowered their intertwined hands and stepped closer. He had previously put down his cup on the reiling and now placed his hand on Jean’s cheek before softly kissing him.  
Jean responded fairly quickly and when they parted, both smiled.  
“I like you a lot, Jean,” Marco confessed as they stood under the endless night sky and the sea gently rocking the ship below them.

As it turned out Marco wasn’t lying when said that he could read maps well and speak several languages. After studying Armin’s mysterious card with him the Sea Nymph soon set out to find new islands.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it. It would mean the world to me if you left kudos or commented.  
> Writing more than 3k is a huge achievement for me!  
> However, I'm not a native speaker so feel free to correct any mistake you see!  
> 


End file.
